Lime Sponge Pudding

It's been a while since I walked around my mother's garden. If summer was all about survival for the garden and the plants, the rains have been about revival and rejuvenation. All the plants are looking healthy, vibrant and according to Ma, "in desperate need of pruning!!". Except for the hibiscus, the flowers will come later on, in our tropical winter. Right now, it's her fruit trees (there's pomegranate, guavas, chikoo, amla) that are blooming!!

 

And right beside them, I noticed a lime tree. More of a shrub and less of a tree, as of now. But, it had quite a few limes hanging about that just called out to me. To have access to such fresh produce and ignore it, would be sheer idiocy.

Work with fresh produce and you should be ready for surprises. Not for them is the uniform blandness of supermarket produce. And true to form, these limes did not disappoint. I cut one open and blinked...and then blinked some more!! The inside of the lime was not light green as expected but orange!! To say that I was flummoxed would be an understatement. When in doubt, turn to Google, who very competently informed me that these were Kassia limes. Whatever they are, my kitchen was smelling all things citrusy!!

These limes are from Ma's garden and so, it is natural that she gets to decide what I make with them. Without a moment's hesitation, she declared that I make a self-saucing sponge pudding. She had fond memories of it from her days when she was newly married. A school friend of hers, who had also moved to Bombay post-marriage, used to make this pudding as her signature dessert. Ma promptly fell in love with it and promised herself that she would try and recreate it. But, life got in the way, until her daughter became a food blogger and decided to give it a go.

For the recipe, I turned to the ever reliable 'Joy of Baking'. I have used limes but feel free to use lemons or even, oranges. The final product results in two layers. The top layer is a tender, sponge layer that gives way to this delightfully, tangy lime sauce. And since it is baked in a water bath, the sponge layer has a texture of a steamed pudding.

One bite of this dessert and you know who is the star. This is not a dessert if you don't enjoy all things citrus. It will refresh, tingle and awaken your taste buds as only limes and lemons can. The zesty sauce at the bottom is what makes this dessert special. Ma gave it her stamp of approval and I can't recommend it enough to all the citrus-lovers out there!!

Warm and straight out of the oven, it will remind you of gentle sunshine on a spring morning. Chilled in the refrigerator (and that's how I personally prefer it), it will remind you of sunshine on a cold, wintry morning. Either way, it will bring a spring in your step!!
 

Espresso Profiteroles

It's been a while since I baked and posted along with the 'TWD : Baking with Julia' group. I can list a number of excuses for my absence but frankly, procrastination, as it usually does, got the better of me. But, this month's choice of espresso profiteroles got me back in the groove.

 

I'll admit it ... I am completely taken in with the French style of baking.  Right from the quaint names to the drama (almost always) involved in the technique to the flair in the presentation and finally, to the superlative taste.. I am hopelessly sold!! It's a different matter that with my clumsy fingers, I doubt I'll ever achieve their level of finesse. But, a girl can always dream!!

 

Choux pastry or pâte à choux is a classic French pastry and has been on my 'to-do' list for a long time. At some point, everyone has had a profiterole or a cream puff as they are known in the States. It would have been a small, hollow pastry puff, filled with sweetened cream and chocolate sauce drizzled all over it.

 

This version from the book, is a espresso variation of the classic, filled with cinnamon ice cream and topped with a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce.

 

So, how did the choux pastry come together?? Surprisingly, it was quite easy to put together. I am always one to put practicality first and if something feels too technically tedious, I have no qualms of buying it from the market. But, the choux pastry was a pleasant surprise, as long as you followed the recipe's instructions. It is not one of those recipes that is tried once as an academic exercise and then conveniently forgotten. Neither is it time-consuming nor tedious, that is discounting all the vigorous stirring one's gotta do.

The final product is a lot darker than your regular profiteroles, owing to the espresso in the pastry. The recipe recommends filling them with ice-cream, a completely impractical option in hot and humid India. So, instead, I filled them with chocolate cream and gave them a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce. Another change I made was that instead of cutting them in half and filling them as the recipe suggests, I made a hole in the bottom and filled these puffs with cream.

 

The espresso hides any eggy taste that you might encounter as this recipe uses a fair share of eggs. You can get creative, and fill these with custard or crème patisserie or even, lemon curd. The pastry shells were light, hollow and smothered with all that chocolate goodness, there is not much you can dislike about them.

So, what does one do when faced with a platter full of profiteroles that have chocolate sauce seductively drizzled all over them.. you simply give in!! Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it!!"

 

Chocolate Cashew Fudge

Every once in a while, I pause and look back at all the posts I've done till now. I've said it before, but it always amazes me how I, who had never opened a recipe book till some time back, today, write a food blog. Yes, sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.

So, today I take you back to one of the recipes that started it all. It was a few years back when I happened to catch Nigella Lawson for the first time on TV. With all her coquettish charm, she would make this fudge and it looked so easy that it convinced me, the kitchen ignoramus, to give it a shot. Such was the success of this recipe back then, that it compelled my sister to buy me my first cookery book. It would be "Nigella Express" with the words, "Now, no more excuses... happy cooking!!"

 

 

Last week, I got a chance to revisit this recipe for a dear friend's daughter's birthday. This recipe cannot get easier. You need to bash the nuts with a rolling pin and then melt the condensed milk along with the chocolate and leave to set. 10 minutes of your time and you will have a batch of chocolate fudge that can never go wrong!

 

The fudge is chewy, chocolaty, rich and a small piece goes a long way. The nuts are a welcome visual and textural contrast. The nuts can be of your choice or you can get creative and use a combination of nuts and dried fruits.

 

 

But, the best compliment this recipe got was from the young ladies, for whom it was intended. I am told they don't eat nuts but when it came to this fudge, there wasn't even a murmur of disapproval. Even better, according to the mother, my cooking skills were given a '5-star' rating!! Need I say more?!??

Spinach and Chilli Straws with Yoghurt Dip

Last week, Indians celebrated their Independence Day and fortunately for all of us, August 15th fell on a Thursday. And that can only mean one thing.. an eagerly anticipated looong weekend!! Whether you took a much-needed vacation or you stayed at home, at some point over the weekend, you would have met up with family and friends.

 

 

There is something so relaxed and informal about lazy weekend brunches. It is about easy-going conversations, raucous laughter, good food and those simple pleasures that help you forget about that long list of pending things-to-do, even if its just for a few hours.

 

And then invariably, the 'remember when..' stories will start. Those timeless stories from your school or college days that have  already been repeated a million times. Not only have you heard them before, you probably were witness to the incident. And yet you laugh so hard, that by the end of the story, you are laughing and crying at the same time.

 

 

Helping those stories along are endless rounds of drinks and of course, the munchies that go with those drinks. Munchies in bowls that are conveniently placed on tables around you, so that you can reach out to them, without even realising it. Remember there is no place for dieters at weekend brunches!!

 

In that list of munchies, these spinach and chilli straws find a place. I found them in the 'Popina Book of Baking'. Isidora Popovic describes them as "crispy, fiery straws to die for with a glass of cold beer and a light dip." In other words, a perfect munchy!!

 

 

What caught my attention was the spice mix that she uses to flavour them with. It reminded me of the Methis Puris I had blogged about last year during Diwali. And the final product is almost like them, except with a different shape. Although, what Isidora's Serbian palate found fiery, my Indian palate found mild. If you can handle a bit of spice, I would recommend upping the red chilli content.

 

Else, these straws are crispy and the kind you will keep eating and then at some point, wonder why are you feeling so full that you can't eat another one. With the yoghurt dip, they are a perfect match to be washed down with a cold drink. The yoghurt dip is a favourite at home and can be had along with chips or even as a healthy filling for a sandwich.  

 

 

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine got the perfect ending, when a darling flatmate from University announced the birth of his beautiful, baby daughter. Parabens, meus amigos!! 

Buttermilk Scones with Plum Jam

Some pairings are just meant to be. Calvin and Hobbes, Batman and Robin, Cain and Abel, Taylor and Burton, Popeye and Olive Oyl, Pav and Bhaji, Bennett and Darcy, Fish and Chips, Tom and Jerry, Yuri and Lara, Vanilla Ice-cream and Chocolate Sauce, Asterix and Obelix, Gin and Tonic, Yin and Yang and so on. Well, add one more to the list .. Scones and Jam!!

This is a post that should have come up a few weeks back. I first made a batch of these scones, the day after I made my jar of plum jam. They were so good that we finished them before I had a chance to photograph them. So, I finally got round to making a second batch yesterday before the jam ran out.

These scones are along the lines of British scones. They are made even lighter by the use of buttermilk rather than the more traditional option of cream. Also, these are not sweet scones but plain ones with a hint of salt. I prefer that the sweetness come from the jam alone.

The final product is light and moist at the same time. According to the 'Hairy Bikers', the hallmark of a good scone is that you can pull it apart without any resistance rather than cutting them in half. The scones from this recipe pass that test with full marks. And that plum jam, I have already introduced to you earlier, is just perfect, even if it's me saying so!!

These scones are best served warm, just out of the oven. I had them with just some jam but you could have them with some butter and jam. And since these are not sweet, you can even add some herbs to the mix and they would be excellent with some soup.

This takes 15 minutes to put together and another 15 minutes in the oven. So, in thirty minutes, you have a delightful tea-time treat.

Now, how 'bout you tell me, some of your favourite pairings?? 

Sticky Toffee Pudding

For all the romance of the rains, there is also the practical side of everyday life in the monsoons. There are the traffic snarls, the breakdown of public transport, the smelly, damp clothes, the overflowing drains and lest we forget, the groaning and moaning of everyone around of how they can't take any more rain. And then just to prove a point, the rain gods decide to go all out over the weekend, complete with lashing rain and howling winds.

 

 

You know it is completely futile to even think of stepping outside. So, you either curl up with a good book, see a movie that you've already seen before, write a blog post on how much you love the rains or simply, make yourself a hot drink and stare out at the insanity of the weather gods!!

 

And then you make your way to the kitchen and decide to make yourself a hot pudding that will warm you up, in sharp contrast to the wet, damp weather that has started dampening your mood too. Knowing me, it should have been chocolate but I had a packet of fresh dates lying around. With Ramzan going on, the stores are filled with dates from the Middle East. So, what better time to put them to use and make some warm, sticky toffee pudding.

Sticky Toffee Pudding is a modern British classic that consists of a moist, date cake that is served with a toffee sauce and vanilla ice-cream or custard. For the recipe, I turn to another modern British classic, Nigel Slater. Yes, he's becoming a favourite out here!!

 

Like many British desserts, this dessert comes together very easily. The instructions are straightforward for the pudding and the toffee sauce.

So, what's the verdict?? The date pudding is delightful. It is moist, not too sweet and surprisingly light. The little bits of date that you encounter as you make your way through the dessert is what makes it special.

I wasn't a fan of the toffee sauce and found it cloyingly sweet. I'd recommend it only for the sugar fanatics. Come to think of it, I could have added some coffee to the sauce, that would have paired well with the dates and taken the sweet edge off the sauce. Next time!!

 

 

If you ask me, have the date pudding as a tea-time treat, without any added frills. It is lovely, just as it is, straight from the oven, warm and moist. A perfect accompaniment while you watch the rains, by the window with a warm cuppa!!

 

Linzer Cookies aka Jam Biscuits

Many a blogger will tell you how blogging has helped them discover hitherto unknown aspects of their personality. For me, working with food, fresh produce and props has helped me discover my personal sense of colour and aesthetics. Another unexpected one has been the discovery of me as a 'jam lady'. Funnily enough, I don't eat that much jam but I do enjoy making them. My mother, of course, can't get over how her kitchen klutz of a daughter found her inner jam lady!! C'est la Vie!!

So, how does this jam lady make her jams?? Well.. they are made with the fruit of the season, without any commercial pectin and not cloyingly sweet. I am not pedantic about their consistency. As long as it's spreadable, I am good to go! And this weekend, I made a jar of plum jam. Plums have a natural tartness which in my dictionary makes them a perfect candidate for jams.

 

And when you make jam, you've got to make jam biscuits. Whether they were made at home or bought from the supermarket, every one has had their fill of them as a child. Mine came from the local, neighbourhood bakery!

The ones I am sharing with you today are the cookie version of the Austrian classic, Linzer Torte. Originated in the early 1700s, the Linzer Torte is nothing but a posh Jam Tart that is filled with black currant preserve and then topped off with a lattice crust. The cookies use the same principle but a different presentation. It is two almond flavoured cookies that sandwich a layer of jam. The upper cookie has a cut-out in the centre that lets the jam peek out.

I made these cookies in two batches. I nearly gave up with the first batch. This is an extremely soft dough that wasn't helped by the extreme humidity that we are facing these days, thanks to the rains. The dough kept breaking and poor quality cookie cutters had a pair of flower cut-outs looking like a pair of eyes that people carve on the pumpkin during Halloween. If you look in the background of some of the photographs, you will get a glimpse of them.

 

Highly frustrated, I switched on the air-conditioning and decided to go with one big cut-out in the centre. This plan worked a lot more smoothly.

Are these cookies worth the effort?? Most definitely yes! The almonds are toasted and the resultant nuttiness enhances the flavour profile of these cookies. Once completely cooled, you will taste the subtler flavours of cinnamon and lemon. And topping it all off is that plum jam that retains a certain tartness that cuts through all the sugar while the jam itself gets more.. jammy! And the fruity freshness that bursts through is simply delightful.

 

The cookies taste even better the next day as the jam helps the cookies to soften and the flavours to mingle. So, if you have time on your hand, these cookies are worth your time and effort.

 

As a child, the fascination of jam biscuits was in seeing the vibrantly coloured jam peek out through the cookie. All these years on, the same fascination endures!!